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MERCHANT OF VENICE 

(Shakespeare) 



BY 



RAYMOND L. NOON AN, B.S. 

Instructor of English, Commercial High School 
Brooklyn, New York 



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MERCHANT OF VENICE 

(Shakespeare) 



BY 



RAYMOND L. NOONAN, B.S. 

Instructor of English, Commercial High School 
Brooklyn, New York 



NEW YORK 

GLt)BE BOOK COMPANY 

175 FIFTH AVENUE 

Flatiron Building 




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Copyright, 1921 
GLOBE BOOK COMPANY 



FEB 26 1921 

©CU605915 






THE NATURE OF THE PLAY 

The Merchant of Venice is at once the most powerful 
of all Shakespeare's comedies, and one of the most per- 
fectly constructed of all his plays. It partakes of the 
serious interest of a great tragedy, and at the same time 
gives the pleasing, restful satisfaction of a happy comedy. 

Nowhere is the element of tragedy more keenly felt 
than in the character of Shylock. Loss and disaster 
attend him on every hand. Antonio, too, is sad and in 
peril of death. All is lost unless Bassanio succeeds in the 
great lottery that decides not only the marriage of Portia 
but the destinies of all the other characters in the play. 

The structure of a tragedy requires an opportunity 
for voluntary choice. The decision made inevitably leads 
to disaster for the chooser. The structure of a comedy 
requires a happy ending for the character most con- 
cerned. The Merchant of Venice is a unique blending 
of the two. Freedom of choice appears many times. 
Antonio may refuse to lend the money to Bassanio. 
He may refuse to sign the dangerous bond. Every deci- 
sion made leads apparently to misfortune. The outcome 
is dark and foreboding, and the play assumes a tragic 
disposition. Suddenly, like the Deus ex machina of the 
Greeks, Portia appears, and a solution is found for every 
difficulty. The play is seen in its rightful aspect and 
all ends happily. 

The rising action concerns itself with the wooing of 
Portia. It begins with the impelling moment of Antonio's 

3 



4 MERCHANT OF VENICE 



• 



sealing the bond that makes the courtship possible. From 
that moment on, the action develops many critical mo- 
ments. Every choice of the caskets is a crisis. Bassanio's 
choice is most important of all. While this part of the 
action advances, a second, complicating action arises. 
Antonio is a bankrupt. His ships have all miscarried. 
He cannot pay his debts. A long period of suspense 
follows. The climax is reached when Portia exclaims : 

"This bond doth give thee here no jot of blood." 

The falling or descending action is typical of the 
comedy. The various threads of the narratives are 
rapidly disentangled, and the conclusion is reached in 

"love, moonlight, and touches of sweet harmony." 

« 

SOURCES OF THE PLAY 

The major part of the plot of The Merchant of Venice 
was taken from the novel // Pecorone, written by Gio- 
vanni Fiorentino in 1378 and published in 1558, and 
from the Gesta Romanorum, the Cursor Mimdi, and 
other earlier collections of stories. The main thread of 
the plot was probably well known in Shakespeare's time, 
for Stephen Gosson in 1579 makes reference to an 
earlier play — "The Jew, shewn at the Bull, representing 
the greedyness of worldly choosers and the bloody minds 
of usurers." As all trace of this play has been lost 
we can but point out the curious coincidence. The pound 
of flesh episode was especially well known, for in Percy's 
Reliques we have an old ballad "A New Song" which 
has as its descriptive subtitle, "Shewing the cruelties of 
Gernutus, A Jewe, who, lending to a merchant an Hun- 



MERCHANT OF VENICE 5 

dred Crowns, would have a Pound of His Fleshe, Be- 
cause He could not Pay Him at the Time Appointed/' 

The casket story is also found in the Gesta Romano- 
rum. It is probably the most ancient of the three, for 
a Greek version entitled Barlaam and Josaphat can be 
traced as far as the year a.d. 800 — the period of Charle- 
magne. 

The Gesta Romanorum is the most important source. 
It was available in English translation as early as 1510, 
and six different versions issued between 1577 and 1602 
were at Shakespeare's disposal. 

Marlowe's Jew of Malta (1589), while in strange con- 
trast to the spirit of Shakespeare's play, probably sug- 
gested the Lorenzo-Jessica plot. 

A number of unimportant similarities to other works 
might be indicated. The real worth of the play, how- 
ever, is the creation of Shakespeare's master mind. 

Date. — The Merchant of Venice was listed by Meres 
in 1598, and was probably finished in 1597, as it is the 
last of Shakespeare's plays in this list. The earliest 
published forms were the two quartos of 1600 which 
differ from each other in a number of minor , details. 
The quartos were apparently never republished. The 
folio of 1623 gives a slightly altered version and is the 
text now generally accepted. 

THE THEATRE 

Before Shakespeare. — When the early actors sought 
for a place in which to perform their plays, it was but 
natural that they should turn to the inn yards. Here 



6 MERCHANT OF VENICE 

they were not only certain to find suitable accommoda- 
tions, but even more important, an audience. The limita- 
tions of the structure available for stage, dressing rooms, 
etc., forced the actors to be content with a meagre amount 
of property and of costume. 

The Shakespearean Theatre. — When the drama became 
important enough to have a home of its own, theatres 
were built. At first they were modeled on the plan of 
the inn yards. The early play-houses had no roofs and 
even as late as the time of the Globe and the Fortune, 
only part of the enclosure was covered. Performances 
were abandoned whenever the weather was inclement. 
As artificial light was impracticable, performances were 
given in the early afternoon. 

Appeal to Imagination. — The average playgoer in 
Shakespeare's day had abundant imagination. A few 
painted cloths, everyday articles of furniture, and occa- 
sionally some artificial trees and grass were all the stage 
properties available. More were not needed. Story and 
incident were more important than setting. A happy 
phrase, or the recitation of a choice selection of poetry, 
especially if it had a strong imaginative appeal, were 
appreciated and admired for their own merit. 

Imagination and superstition frequently go hand in 
hand. This was especially true in the time of Elizabeth. 
Ghosts were real and terrible. The "character that was 
confronted by the ghost was doomed, and the Shake- 
sperian audience realized it. Witches and their cauldrons, 
soothsayers and their prophecies, and disturbances of 
nature, and were freighted with significance and firmly 
believed, 



MERCHANT OF VENICE 



SYNOPSIS OF THE PLAY 

Dramatis Personae. 

The Duke of Venice. 

The Prince of Morocco, ] _ 

T , t) . , A \ suitors to Portia. 

lne Prmce of Arragon, J 

Antonio, a merchant of Venice. 

Bassanio, his friend, suitor likewise to Portia. 

Salanio, 

Salarino, 

Gratiano, 

Salerio, 

Lorenzo, in love with Jessica. 

Shylock, a rich Jew. 

Tubal, a Jew, his friend. 

Launcelot Gobbo, the clown, servant to Shylock. 

Leonardo, servant to Bassanio. 

Old Gobbo, father to Launcelot. 

Balthasar, 



friends to Antonio and Bassanio. 



servants to Portia, 
btephano, 

Portia, a rich heiress. 

Nerissa, her waiting-maid. 

Jessica, daughter to Shylock. 

Magnificoes of Venice, Officers of the Court of Justice, 

Gaoler, Servants to Portia, and other Attendants. 
Scene : Partly at Venice, and partly at Belmont, the seat 

of Portia on the Continent. 



MERCHANT OF VENICE 



Act i 



Antonio, a prosperous and highly esteemed Merchant 
of Venice, is afflicted with an unwonted sadness that fore- 
casts the spirit of the first four acts. The efforts of his 
friends to interest him prove of no avail and he is left 
alone in the company of Bassanio. Bassanio deeply loves 
Portia and feels that the love is mutual. In order to 
help Ba§sanio woo the heiress of Belmont, Antonio agrees 
to lend him three thousand ducats. As all Antonio's 
capital is invested in divers ships at sea he decides to 
borrow the money from Shylock, a Jewish money-lender. 

In the second scene we are introduced to Portia and 
her maid Nerissa. From the conversation we are per- 
mitted to overhear, we gather that of all the many suitors, 
Bassanio is secretly favored. The entry of the Prince 
of Morocco promises to throw considerable light on the 
secret of the caskets. 

In the meantime Antonio and Bassanio meet Shylock 
and solicit the loan of three thousand ducats. Shylock's 
warm denunciation of Antonio, and the latter's cool 
defiance give little promise of an amicable arrangement. 
Antonio signs a bond agreeing to forfeit a pound of 
flesh in default of payment on the date the bond fell 
due. This he did with little thought for "his ventures 
were not in one bottom trusted'' and he expected "return 
of thrice three times the value of the bond" a month 
before the day. 



MERCHANT OF VENICE 



Act 2 



On our return to Portia's house we learn in detail 
the conditions attending the choosing of the caskets. Our 
curiosity is aroused and we regret that we may not know 
more of their secrets until the Prince of Morocco makes 
his choice after dinner. 

Meanwhile, we are entertained with a typically Eliza- 
bethan low-comedy scene — the Launcelot-Gobbo episode. 
At the same time Bassanio prepares to go to Belmont, and 
Jessica in another quarter is ready to desert her father, 
steal his treasures, and elope with Lorenzo. 

The interest in the masque scenes that follow is scenic 
and purely incidental. The plot action is not advanced. 

In Scene Seven we return to Belmont. Before the 
Prince of Morocco are the three caskets. The golden 
one entices with the inscription "Who chooseth me shall 
gain what many men desire." The silver casket promises 
"Who chooseth me shall get as much as he deserves." 
The dull lead casket bluntly states "Who chooseth me 
must give and hazard all he hath." The dusky prince 
decides to open the golden casket. A carrion death 
crushes all his hope and he departs unsatisfied. 

In the eighth scene we learn indirectly of Shylock's 
ravings on discovering his loss and the absence of his 
daughter. Our fears for Antonio increase when tidings 
of shipwrecks reach our ears. The only ray of comfort 
is found when the Prince of Arragon shows us that the 
silver casket is not the favored one, and we eagerly await 
the arrival of Bassanio. 



10 MERCHANT OF VENICE 

Act 3 

Our worst fears are now confirmed. Antonio has lost 
his ships and their now doubly valued cargo. The news 
reaches Shylock while the poor man is frantic with the 
loss of his treasure and the elopement of his daughter. 
Tubal in his blundering way makes the situation worse 
by his ill-chosen incidents of Jessica's prodigality. 

Bassanio finally reaches Belmont and to our relief 
wisely chooses the leaden casket. Portia is his. Hardly 
has Portia entrusted her possessions to his keeping than 
a letter arrives from the ill-fated friend. Portia claims 
the wifely right to share the contents of the paper that 
"steals the color from Bassanio's cheek." Antonio is 
bankrupt and in jail. His bond is forfeited. He must 
die. Portia furnishes Bassanio bountifully with money 
and he hastens to Venice to aid his devoted friend now 
in such dire straits. At the same time Antonio is being 
led away to jail at the insistence of irascible Shylock. 

Portia resolves to take an active part in the saving 
of Antonio. With Nerissa's aid, she plans to appear at 
Antonio's trial disguised as a young Roman lawyer. 
Accordingly she leaves her home in the care of Lorenzo 
and Jessica and goes to Venice. 



Act 4 

The Duke of Venice is greatly distracted at the pros- 
pect of a fatal outcome to the trial before him. He is 
on the point of adjourning the court, when Nerissa 
appears in the guise of a clerk and announces the coming 



MERCHANT OF VENICE II 

of a representative from Bellario — the great lawyer of 
Padua. So clever is Portia's disguise that even Bassanio 
does not recognize her. In consequence of her eloquent 
pleading and shrewd legal acumen Shylock not only loses 
his strange suit but suffers the confiscation of his prop- 
erty for plotting against the life of Antonio. Even his 
life is at the mercy of the Duke. 

Shylock's life is spared and half his possessions are 
restored to him in trust for Jessica on condition that 
he becomes a Christian. This he assents to and the papers 
are prepared for his signature. 

Bassanio, delighted at the unexpected outcome, urges 
the young lawyer to accept a generous fee. Portia, bold 
in the security of her legal garb, much prefers to tease 
her husband and asks for his gloves and ring. Mindful 
of the vow made to Portia when the ring was given to 
him, he is reluctant to part with this treasured posses- 
sion, and the doctor departs in angry scorn. Later on 
he yields to Antonio's plea and sends -the ring to Portia. 
In a similar way Nerissa secures her husband's ring in 
spite of his ardent vows to keep it until death. 

Act 5 

Antonio accompanies his friend Bassanio home to Bel- 
mont, where Portia and Nerissa await their coming. 
Shortly after their arrival Nerissa taunts Gratiano with 
the loss of his ring. His defense that he followed Bas- 
sanio's example arouses Portia's pretended ire. In vain 
does the unhappy husband plead extenuating circum- 
stances. At length to relieve Antonio's feelings Portia 



12 MERCHANT OF VENICE 

reveals her part in the trial and offers Bassanio the ring 
as evidence. 

Antonio's ships have safely come to harbor and the 
play ends happily for all. 



CHARACTERS 

Shylock 

The character of Shylock cannot be rightly or com- 
pletely understood unless the student attempts to estimate 
the great degree to which Shakespeare transcends the 
prejudices of his age. Shylock has nothing in common 
with Barabas in The Jew of Malta. Although Shake- 
speare subjected him to many of the indignities practiced 
in a cruel and bigoted age, he had vision enough to realize 
that any character dependent solely on racial hatred, would 
soon become extinct. He therefore carefully motivated 
every act of Shylock's, with the result that he wins the 
sympathy of every spectator when he is scorned by 
Antonio. Shylock's hatred is not blind. Often has 
Antonio outraged his racial patriotism, thwarted him in 
business ventures, and heaped insult and abuse upon him 
in public. 

William Hazlitt sums up his character by saying : 
"There is a strong, quick, and deep sense of justice mixed 
up with the gall and bitterness of his resentment. The 
constant apprehension of being burnt alive, plundered, 
banished, reviled, and trampled on, might be supposed to 
sour the most forbearing nature, and to take something 
from that 'milk of human kindness/ with which his 



MERCHANT OF VENICE 13 

persecutors contemplated his indignities. The desire of 
revenge is almost inseparable from the sense of wrong; 
and he can hardly help sympathizing with the proud 
spirit, hid beneath his 'Jewish gaberdine/ stung to mad- 
ness by repeated undeserved provocations, and laboring 
to throw off the load of obloquy and oppression heaped 
upon him and all his tribe by one desperate act of 'lawful' 
revenge, till the ferociousness of the means by which he 
is to execute his purpose, and the pertinacity with which 
he adheres to it, turn up against him; but even at last, 
when disappointed of the sanguinary revenge with which 
he had glutted his hopes, and exposed to beggary and 
contempt by the letter of the law on which he had in- 
sisted with so little remorse, we pity him, and think him 
hardly dealt with by his judges." 

Bassanio 

Bassanio is represented as a soldier and a scholar, and 
the best deserving a fair lady. Antonio loved him as the 
dearest friend for whom he would gladly sacrifice his 
life. Portia had almost limitless chances open to her, 
yet esteemed Antonio so highly that for his sake she 
wished to be 

"trebled twenty times myself, 
a thousand times more fair, ten thousand times 
more rich." 

Even the minor characters praise him. Gratiano wanted 
to travel with him, and Launcelot sought to work for 
hinx That he had at once a dignity and a graceful ease 



14 MERCHANT OF VENICE 

of manner is apparent in the way others addressed him. 
"My Lord Bassanio" was the usual salutation, and the 
words carry no touch of aloofness or of scornful irony. 
In every circumstance, and under every condition, Bas- 
sanio was a gentleman. 

Antonio 

Antonio is a sufferer from, rather than a participant 
in the course of events. He is the "unhappy subject'' of 
the entire action as well as of the quarrels. The melan- 
choly fits of depression with which he is presented give 
the key to his whole career. Generous to a fault, 
reckless of himself, he pledges his own life to help Bas- 
sanio secure the needed ducats. To Bassanio he is "the 
kindest man" ; to Shylock a "fawning publican" and "the 
fool that lends out money gratis." The imminence of 
death brings no fearful alarms — he is "meetest for 
death" and well prepared. With his riches he has done 
a great deal of good and when he can no longer be of 
service he is ready to die. 

Antonio would have our undivided sympathy except 
for his harsh treatment of Shylock. Gross discourtesy 
seems out of place in such a character. Yet even here 
Antonio is again the victim, this time of tradition. As 
Knight says: 

"The one (Antonio) habitually pursues with injustice 
the subjected man he has been taught to loathe; the other 
(Shylock) in the depths of his subtle obstinacy seizes 
upon the occasion to destroy the powerful man he has 
been compelled to fear." 



MERCHANT OF VENICE 15 

Portia 

Portia is the embodiment of three qualities — mental 
alertness, faithfulness, and humor. True it is that suitors 
sought her from afar because of her beauty and her 
riches, but in the story these play but little part. Her 
faithfulness is shown by her loyalty to the terms of her 
father's will. Her skill in handling many and varied 
suitors, her cleverness in preparing for the trial, and her 
shrewdness in outwitting the crafty Shylock, testify to' 
the alertness of her mind. Her scornful estimates of 
some of her suitors, and her cool enjoyment of her hus- 
band's uneasiness as he tries to explain his gift of the 
ring show a keen sense of humor. 

William Hazlitt condemns Portia as "pedantic." Other 
critics with less thoughtfulness refer to her as cold, full 
of affectation, and deficient in the finer qualities of 
womanhood. But before applying any such adjectives, 
we should carefully consider the circumstances in which 
she was placed. When, for example, we obsfhsye her lack 
of courtesy to the Prince of Arragon, we should recall 
the intolerance of the whole situation and bring to mind 
as antidote her graceful and warm welcome to Antonio. 
Almost every appearance of Portia throughout the play 
is at a crisis that requires the exercise of strong mascu- 
line attributes. Few, if any, opportunities are offered for 
the display of the gentler and more womanly character- 
istics of a really great heroine. Her real greatness con- 
sists in. her ability to sacrifice her real self for the sake 
of others. 



1 6 MERCHANT OF VENICE 

Minor Characters 

Of the other characters little need be said. Lorenzo 
is the care-free youthful lover. Thrift and industry mean 
little to him. Jessica is lively and reckless. Together 
they steal part of Shylock's treasure but have neither a 
sense of wrong in so doing, nor any definite plans for the 
use of the money. A monkey takes Leah's cherished 
ring, and four score ducats go at one indefinite "sitting." 
Their married future would be precarious indeed were 
it not for the fact that Antonio is to be the trustee of 
their share of Shylock's wealth. 

In contrast to these two are Nerissa and Gratiano. 
Both are good-natured and inclined to talk too much. 
Imitation plays a prominent part in their activities. As 
far as possible they follow every move of Bassanio and 
Portia, with whose fortunes their own are inseparably 
connected. 

Launcelot Gobbo is the typical low-comedy character of 
the play. While perhaps not so interesting or amusing 
as other Shakesperian fools, he nevertheless serves a use- 
ful purpose. He occupies the stage while action is dra- 
matically delayed, and while so doing takes the spectator's 
thoughts from his old master Shylock to his new lord, 
Bassanio. 

Plot 

The plot is constructed by the skillful weaving together 
of three ljnes of action. The grotesque and highly im- 
probable pound of flesh story at once brings Antonio 
into the clutches of Shylock and by furnishing the money 



MERCHANT OF VENICE 17 

whereby Bassanio may win Portia, provides a means for 
the merchant's deliverance. In spite of their fatalistic 
exterior, the three mysterious caskets will deliver Portia 
only to one who will rightly love. Hardly has Bassanio 
won his lady than he is called upon to rush to the aid 
of Ijis benefactor. Portia's participation in the trial not 
only unites these two lines of action but paves the way, 
by means of the rings, for the happy ending. Jessica's 
elopement with Lorenzo and her stealing of Shylock's 
treasure strengthen his anger against Antonio. Even 
Launcelot, the low-comedy character, helps by his fre- 
quent appearance to knit the action more closely together. 

The lives and fortunes of all the principal characters 
are bound up together and give the play its unity of 
action. So much are we concerned with the fortunes of 
individual characters that we lose thought of all purely 
dramatic technicalities such as unity of time and unity 
of space. Every scene shift gives promise of a new action 
in the near future, and at the same time carries us along 
so naturally that even a lapse of three months seems 
perfectly natural. 

With geography we have little or no concern. Belmont 
is on the coast of Italy and within easy travel distance of 
Venice. Padua is about equal distance away. 

STYLE 

Diction 

The student of The Merchant of Venice should re- 
member not only that Shakespeare was writing three 
centuries ago, but that he was writing in an age of poetry. 



1 8 MERCHANT OF VENICE 

The ardent Elizabethan play-goer could be depended upon 
to watch eagerly for every accent and modulation of 
voice. Ideas were adequately conveyed by a gesture, a 
look, and perhaps a disconnected phrase. Brevity was 
more to be desired than correctness of diction. Many a 
colorless line in the mouth of a great interpretative ajtor 
became full of vital significance. 

The progress of the years has also wrought great 
changes in the meanings of words. Shakespeare's studies 
in the Latin prompted him to use many words in a literal 
sense that are not now so used. For example, prevent 
is used literally as an equivalent for anticipate, and mor- 
tifying is used to mean causing death. Oftentimes, Shake- 
speare uses words that are rare to-day, as bestrew, break 
(in sense of failing to fulfill an obligation), cover heavy 
(sorrowful), scarfed, and many others. 

Inflected forms meant little to Shakespeare. Not only 
are the various pronouns and prepositions interchange- 
able, but both are frequently omitted. The modern dis- 
tinctions between transitive and intransitive verbs were 
not so highly regarded in Shakespeare's day. Frequent 
changes in mood and tense still further perplex the reader. 
Parts of sentences and even parts of words are omitted 
without any feeling of incompleteness. The only require- 
ment of Shakespeare's grammar was that it be understood. 

Versification 

The Merchant of Venice is written for the most part 
in blank verse. The usual line consists of five feet with 
the accent regularly falling on the second syllable in each 



MERCHANT OF VENICE 19 

foot. This form of verse is called iambic pentameter. 
Tedious monotony is relieved by frequent shifts of the 
accent from the second to the first syllable in the foot, 
and by increasing or decreasing the number of feet in 
the line. Rhymed lines are frequently interspersed, but 
as the total number of such lines is but 124, the jingle-like 
characteristics of a play like the earlier Love's Labor's 
Lost are avoided. 

NOTES 

1. Time analysis: 

P. A. Daniel in the Transactions of the New Shake- 
speare Society, 1877, considers the action as occupying 
eight days, with intervals aggregating three months. His 
scheme is as follows: 
Day 1, Act I. 

Interval, about a week. 
Day 2, Act II, Scenes I- VII. 

Interval, one day. 
Day 3, Act II, Scenes VIII and IX. 

Interval, bringing the time to within a fortnight 
of the maturity of the bond. 
Day 4, Act III, Scene I. 
Interval, a fortnight. 
Day 5, Act III, Scenes II to IV. 
Day 6, Act III, Scene V, Act IV. 
Days 7 and 8, Act V. 
Shakespeare's skillful suggestions of the passing of 
time, and the parallel nature of the action, makes the 
elapsing of three months hardly noticeable and thus helps 
to preserve unity. 



20 MERCHANT OF VENICE 

2. Shylock, the Jew. — The play was written to enter- 
tain an audience and was not designed either to offend or 
defend the Jews of the period. Shakespeare had no moral 
to teach and was not writing with any purpose other than 
a purely dramatic one. From this point of view it is 
easy to understand and reconcile the conflicting interpre- 
tations of his characters, especially Shylock, rendered by 
various actors. In fact, some critics have gone as far as 
to say that the progress of social morality in England 
may be marked off in stages indicated by successive re- 
finements in the acting of the part of Shylock. 

3. The ducat is variously estimated as worth from 
$1.00 to $1.53 in American money; $1.12 is a familiar 
evaluation. Three thousand ducats, considering the rela- 
tive purchasing power of money, would be worth in the 
neighborhood of $30,000 in our day. When the reader 
recalls Portia's offer to pay 36,000 ducats ($360,000 or 
more) for the release of Antonio, he will understand the 
phrase "and richly left/' 

4. The Moor was the type of the colored person in 
Elizabethan England. The African negro was, of course, 
wholly unfamiliar. The devil was supposed to have 
his complexion. The audience would naturally expect 
the Prince of Morocco to fail, and in this way to learn 
the secrets of the caskets. 

5. Usury. — In Shakespeare's time there was no dis- 
tinction between usury, usance, and interest. All were 
alike legal, and all were alike hated by unfortunates who 
had to borrow. 

6. Tragedy or Comedy. — In spite of the seriousness 
that attends it, The Merchant of Venice is a comedy and 



MERCHANT OF VENICE 21 

is true structurally to that type of drama. The opening 
scenes {Exposition) show us the relations of the impor- 
tant characters to each other. The complication unites 
the bond and casket stories. 

The former furnishes the plot in which Antonio is 
bound to Shylock and its climax of Antonio's utter help- 
lessness. The latter furnishes the counter plot through 
which Antonio is delivered by Portia, and its catastrophe 
marked by Portia's saving words : 

This bond doth give thee here no jot of blood. 

A happy ending is thus assured. 

7. The Trial Scene. — "The whole of the trial-scene, 
both before and after the entrance of Portia, is a master- 
piece of dramatic skill. The legal acuteness, the passion- 
ate declamations, the sound maxims of jurisprudence, the 
wit and irony interspersed in it, the fluctuations of hope 
and fear in the different persons, and the completeness 
and suddenness of the catastrophe, cannot be surpassed. 
Shylock, who is his own counsel, defends himself well, 
and is triumphant on all the general topics that are urged 
against him, and only fails through a legal flaw. Take 
the following as an instance : 

"Shylock. What judgment shall I dread, doing no 

wrong ? 
You have among you many a purchas'd slave, 
Which like your asses, and your dogs, and mules, 
You use in abject and in slavish part, 
Because you bought them : shall I say to you 
Let them be free, marry them to their heirs? 
Why sweat they under burdens? Let their beds 
Be made as soft as yours, and let their palates 



22 MERCHANT OF VENICE 

Be season'd with such viands ? you will answer, 
The slaves are ours : so do I answer you : 
The pound of flesh, which I demand of him, 
Is dearly bought, is mine, and I will have it. 
If you deny me, fie upon your law! 
There is no force in the decrees of Venice ; 
I stand for judgment: answer; shall I have it?" 

{Hazlitt, Characters of Shakespeare's Plays.) 

8. Portia's Judgment. — Careful students of law may 
question the strict legality of Portia's interpretation, but 
the dramatist is not concerned with legal technicalities. 
True it is that the right of access always accompanies pos- 
session. Portia's judgment is foreign to all ideas of 
equity. The real justification is found in the fact that it 
satisfies a dramatic sense of judgment. Shylock must be 
curbed, not only to save Antonio and so make the play 
a comedy, but also to win our sympathy for him in his 
hour of defeat. 

9. Figures of Speech. — Among Shakespeare's many 
forceful uses of figures of speech in this play might be 
mentioned 

And see my wealthy Andrew dock'd in sand, 

Vailing her high top lower than her ribs 

To kiss her burial. (I, i, 25) 

Look how the floor of heaven 

Is thick inlaid with patines of bright gold: 

There's not the smallest orb which thou behold'st 

But in his motion like an angel sings, 

Still quiring to the young-eyed cherubins; 

Such harmony is in immortal souls : 

But whilst this muddy vesture of decay 

Doth grossly close it in, we cannot hear it. 

(V. i, 58) 



MERCHANT OF VENICE 2$ 

io. Passages to be memorized. — There are many ex- 
cellent passages suitable for use as memory selections. 
Perhaps the best known are 

(a) The quality of mercy is not strain'd, 

It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven 

Upon the place beneath: it is twice blest; 

It blesseth him that gives and him that takes : 

'Tis mightiest in the mightiest : it becomes 

The throned monarch better than his crown ; 

His sceptre shows the force of temporal power, 

The attribute to awe and majesty, 

Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings : 

But mercy is above this sceptred sway ; 

It is enthroned in the hearts of kings, 

It is an attribute to God himself ; 

And earthly power doth then show likest God's 

When mercy seasons justice. (IV, i, 185) 

(b) Shylock. To bait fish withal: if it will feed noth- 
ing else, it will feed my revenge. He hath disgraced me, 
and hindered me half a million, laughed at my losses, 
mocked at my gains, scorned at my nation, thwarted my 
bargains, cooled my friends, heated mine enemies ; and 
what's his reason ? I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes ? 
hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affec- 
tions, passions? fed with the same food, hurt with the 
same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by 
the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter 
and summer, as a Christian is? If you prick us, do we 
not bleed? if you tickle us, do we not laugh? if you 
poison us, do we not die? and if you wrong us, shall we 
not revenge? if we are like you in the rest, we will 
resemble you in that. If a Jew wrong a Christian, what 
is his humility? Revenge. If a Christian wrong a Jew, 
what should his sufferance be by Christian example? 



24 MERCHANT OF VENICE 

Why, revenge. The villainy you teach me, I will exe- 
cute ; and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction. 

(HI, i, 55) 

LIST OF ANALYTICAL QUESTIONS ON THE 
MERCHANT OF VENICE 

Act I 

Scene I 

1. Why is Antonio sad? 

2. What other beginning might you suggest? 

3. What facts essential to the story are brought out in this 

scene? 

4. How far is Antonio's true character revealed in this scene? 

5. How far is Bassanio's true character revealed in this scene? 

6. What is the best single line revealed in this scene? 

7. What is the best speech in this scene? 

Scene 2 

8. In what respect is the beginning of Scene 2 like the beginning 

of Scene 1? 

9. Do you find in Scene 2 any evidence of the traits Portia shows 

at the trial? 

10. Was Portia in love? 

11. What evidence is there that Portia had many suitors? 

12. Can you give any reason why Scene 2 in both Act I and 

Act II is in prose? 

13. What facts essential to the story are brought out in this 

scene ? 

14. Why would not the caskets be chosen rightly except by one 

who should rightly love? 

15. What is the most pleasing figure of speech in Scenes 1 and 2 

of Act I? 

Scene 3 

16. How does Shakespeare make it seem natural that Antonio 

would sign such a bond? 



MERCHANT OF VENICE 25 

17. How does Shylock try to make it seem natural to ask for 

such security as a pound of flesh? 

18. Does Antonio believe in Shylock' s good-will? 

19. What traits of Antonio's character are brought out in this 

scene? 

20. What facts essential to the play are brought out in this scene ? 

21. How does this scene compare in dramatic value with the 

scenes that precede it? 

Act II 

Scene 1 

22. Does Morocco love Portia well enough to perform his boasts ? 

23. Why does Portia, in line 44, send him to the temple? 

Scene 2 

24. What two traits of Bassanio's character are made more pro- 

nounced in this scene? 

25. What do you consider the best joke in this scene? 

26. Why is Gratiano brought into the play? 

Scene 3 

27. What is the strife that Jessica refers to in line 19? 

Scene 4 

28. What preparation had Lorenzo made for eloping with Jessica? 

Scenes 5 and 6 

29. What is the nature of Jessica's home-life as revealed in this 

scene and Scene 3? 

30. In what respects is Jessica like her father? 

31. What adjectives would you use in describing Jessica's char- 

acter ? 

32. Does Shylock trust Jessica? 

33. What apology can be offered for Jessica's conduct? 



26 MERCHANT OF VENICE 

34. If Bassanio conspired against Shylock what does it show 

regarding Bassanio's character? 

35. How was Gratiano dressed? 

36. Was Antonio aware of the plot to steal Jessica? 

37. What are the best two scenes thus far in the play? 

38. Why are these two scenes better than the others? 

Scene 7. 

39. Why does Morocco fail? 

40. Why does he obtain our sympathy? 

41. What is the dramatic use of this scene, and of Scene I of 

Act II? 

Scene 8 

42. Was Shylock's life pleasant? 

43. At what line of the play is the turning-point from comedy 

toward tragedy? 

Scene 9 

44. Why did Arragon decide to risk a choice? 

45. Why did Arragon fail? 

46. Did Portia expect Bassanio to come ? 

47. What is the dramatic use of this scene? 



Act III 

Scene 1 

48. What is the condition of Antonio's estate? 

49. Can you tell how Antonio's affairs came into this condition? 

50. What good construction can you place on Shylock's wish in 

lines 95-96? 

51. Does Shakespeare sympathize with Shylock? 

52. Does Shakespeare expect playgoers to sympathize with Shy- 

lock? 

53. Why does Shylock (line 139) agree to meet Tubal at the 

synagogue ? 



MERCHANT OF VENICE 27 

54. Give the train of events that has led Shylock to his present 

state of feeling regarding Antonio. 

55. What do you think of Tubal's character? 

Scene 2 

56. Why might not Bassanio have remained for a little while at 

Portia's house had he chosen the wrong casket? 

57. Did Portia in the first sixty lines of this scene give Bassanio 

any hint for choosing? 

58. What hint is contained in the song? 

59. Does Bassanio take this hint? 

60. Was Portia forsworn? 

61. What does Jessica's remark, in lines 280-286, show regarding 

her character? 

62. Was Bassanio suited to be Portia's "Lord, governor, and 

king" (186th line)? 

Sceke 3 

63. Is this a good scene? 

Scene 4 

64. Does Portia show in this scene traits that appear in her 

character elsewhere in the play? 

65. What is the purpose of this scene? 

Scene 5 

66. What is the purpose of this scene? 

Act IV 

Scene 1 

67. Why was so preposterous a cause allowed to come to court? 

68. Is there any possible apology, besides a desire for revenge, 

for Shylock's ignoring all appeals for mercy? 

69. How did the Duke happen to resort to Bellario? 

70. Could Portia and Nerissa so have disguised themselves? 

71. Why, inasmuch as Portia knew the laws she could quote 



28 MERCHANT OF VENICE 

against Shylock, did she, and the Duke as well, urge 
Shylock to show mercy, and finally to have a surgeon by? 

J2. Wherein is the "jot of blood" decision (line 307) bad law? 

J$. Wherein is the "just pound" decision (line 328) bad law? 

74. In addition to bad law adduced, in what other important 

respects was Shylock's trial illegal? 

75. Why did Shakespeare fail to remedy these errors? 

76. What is Gratiano's function in this scene? 

yy. Is there any evidence in this scene that Portia had large 
hands ? 

78. Excepting the "quality of mere} 7 " passage what is the best 

speech in this scene? 

79. In this scene what speech of Shylock's brings out his char- 

acter best? 

80. What words of Antonio's are the most characteristic of him? 

Scene 2 

81. How does this scene show Shakespeare's skill as a dramatist? 

Act V 

Scene 1 

82. Is Jessica's character here consistent with it as shown else- 

where? 
S3. What can be learned of Shakespeare's character from this 
scene? 

84. At what line, about, of this scene, does the moon pass under 

the clouds, and at about what line does it emerge? 

85. Did Lorenzo speak the truth in calling himself, in line 16, 

"an unthrift love"? 

86. Is it possible to give any reasonable explanation of how Portia 

found (line 260) that three of Antonio's ships had come 
suddenly to port? 

87. In what respect is the play weakest? 

88. What passage in the play is the best? 

89. What other moral, besides the evil pf judging by appearances, 

and the wickedness of greed, does the play set forth? 



MERCHANT OF VENICE 29 



QUESTIONS ON THE MERCHANT OF VENICE 

SELECTED FROM REGENTS' AND COLLEGE 

ENTRANCE EXAMINATION BOARD 

1. Give the substance of Portia's remarks to Bassanio immedi- 
ately after his selection of the casket; show what traits of char- 
acter are revealed in this speech. 

2. Describe Portia's plans for the relief of Antonio and sketch 
the steps taken in carrying them out. 

3. Explain how the elopement of Jessica aids in the plot 
development of The Merchant of Venice. 

4. Write a narrative on one of the following topics. Choose 
the material from the book, and write as though your reader 
had not read the book. 

(a) How a bride saved her husband's friend. 

(b) What a man did with his wife's first present. 

5. "Shakespeare wanted his audience to sympathize with Shy- 
lock." Give three arguments, based on The Merchant of Venice, 
for or against this statement. 

6. Characterize either Shylock or Portia. 

7. In a paragraph or two compare The Merchant of Venice 
with any other of Shakespeare's plays that you have read, show- 
ing as clearly as you can the most striking points of difference 
between the two plays. 

8. Summarize in one well constructed paragraph of not more 
than 100 words, The Merchant of Venice. Pay particular atten- 
tion to proportion and to the emphasis of important details. 

9. Give illustrations of five of the following: Moment of sus- 
pense, antecedent material, character setting, contrast in char- 
acterization of an incident, climax, retarding force, sequence of 
time. 

10. Explain how the Prince of Morocco, the prince of Arragon, 
and Bassanio show their characters by their choice of caskets, 
giving in substance the inscription on each casket. 

11. With what speech or action is the climax reached in The 
Merchant of Venice. Defend your position. 



30 MERCHANT OF VENICE 

12. Write on the topic: 

The Story of the Rings. 

13. Describe the trial scene in The Merchant of Venice. Do 
not outline the plot but describe the scene as if it were a tableau 
or a painting, emphasizing what you imagine to have been the 
grouping, costumes, background, etc. 

14. Write a composition of 150 words or more on the follow- 
ing topics : 

1. Was justice done to Shylock? 

2. The elements of greatness in Shylock's character. 

3. The Story of the Caskets. 

4. The Pound of Fesh story. 

5. The fifth act of The Merchant of Venice. 

6. The life of young people in Venice. 



THE LIFE OF SHAKESPEARE 

William Shakespeare was born at Stratford-on-Avon, War- 
wickshire, April 2s, 1564. His father was a prominent merchant 
of the place and for a time was its chief alderman. Every record 
indicates that Shakespeare's boyhood days were extremely happy. 
He attended the Stratford Grammar School for seven years, and 
according to the custom of the day was amply instructed in the 
Latin authors but very little in English. His unexcelled mastery 
of English is therefore due to his own earnest efforts. He studied 
the Bible in a good English translation, and was fortunate enough 
to attend a church whose clergyman was at once an inspiration 
and an example. 

Family reverses and responsibilities arising from his marriage 
to Anne Hathaway drove him to London where he soon entered 
upon his dramatic work. Before 1595 he had produced several 
plays, notably, the Comedy of Errors, A Midsummer Night's 
Dream, Romeo and Juliet, Richard II and Richard III. In addi- 
tion to these plays, the non-dramatic poem Venus and Adonis 
was published (1593). 



MERCHANT OF VENICE 31 

In the second period of his work (1595-1601) Shakespeare pro- 
duced two of his masterpieces, As You Like It and The Merchant 
of Venice. In this period we see many evidences of maturity 
in thought and purpose. The early exaggeration of the Comedy 
of Errors gives place to the philosophical portrayal of Jaques and 
the sagacious Portia. 

The dominant characteristic of the next period of Shake- 
speare's work is sadness. "In the Depths" is a familiar title for 
this part of the poet's life. During this time were produced the 
great tragedies Julius Coesar, Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, King 
Lear. The future is dark and foreboding. In the words of 
Hamlet, "To be, or not to be — that is the question." 

Later on, Shakespeare returned to the more cheerful, hopeful 
spirit of his earlier plays. There is an air of triumph in his 
heroes. The very atmosphere is invigorating. Gone are the 
Othellos and the Barnardines, and in their places we find Pros- 
pero and Ariel. Even a degraded Caliban is made to serve a 
noble purpose and "lead them to the springs." 

The last few years of his life were spent at Stratford, where 
he died in 1616 on the anniversary of his birth. He was laid to 
rest in the little country church that became at once the literary 
shrine of English speaking people. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 

For Life of Shakespeare ; 

Lee, A Life of William Shakespeare. 
Furnivall and Munro, Shakespeare : Life and Work. 
Baker, The Development of Shakespeare as a Dramatist. 
Dowden, Shakespeare, His Mind and Art. 

For Text of "The Merchant of Venice" : 
Furness, Variorum Edition. 
Knight, Shakespeare, Vol. III. 
Rolfe, Merchant of Venice. 
Also editions by Hudson, Kellogg, Withers, Lovett, et al. 



32 MERCHANT OF VENICE 

For Study of Characters ; 

Hazlitt, Characters of Shakespeare's Plays. 
Jameson, Characteristics of Women. 
Dowden, Shakespeare Primer. 

For Understanding of Shylock ; 

Boas, Shakespeare and His Predecessors, p. 226 on. 
Abrahams, Jewish Life in the Middle Ages, especially p. 411. 
(Browning's Holy Cross Day and F Hippo Baldinucci are 
extremely interesting in this connection.) 

For the Stage History of the Play: 
Winter, Shakespeare on the Stage. 



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